(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

BY MIKKEL NOEL LANZKY

ANCHOR CHRISTINA HARTMAN

The Iowa caucuses are just a month away, and the race for the GOP presidential nomination is picking up speed. The biggest spenders so far, Rick Perry and Ron Paul, who both put out new ads the past few days. And now, Newt Gingrich is splurging $250,000 dollars on airtime for a new ad that is being likened to Reagan’s iconic ’84 ad ‘Morning Again in America’. MSNBC has the story.

“Newt Gingrich has become the field’s new front-runner without spending a penny on TV-ads, a fact that changes this morning. A 60-second spot, which will air this week in Iowa; here’s a taste of it: ‘Some people say the America we know and love is a thing of the past. I don’t believe that. Because working together, I know we can rebuild America.’"

Newt Gingrich has been rising recently and is now in the lead in Iowa, according to a new poll by NBC and Marist.

“The NBC Marist poll shows Newt Gingrich leading Iowa with 26 percent, the apparent beneficiary of tea party conservatives defecting from Herman Cain. But the party chairman says it’s not over. ‘I think it’s going to be up to the voters in Iowa, and New Hampshire, and North Carolina and Florida.’”

And The Des Moines Register notes the surge of Newt Gingrich is not the only interesting point in the poll.

“More than 70 percent of likely caucusgoers are still up for grabs. Eleven percent aren’t yet ready to name a first choice, and 60 percent say they could be persuaded to support another candidate.”

The Iowa caucuses are traditionally seen as crucial because it is first in the GOP nomination process. But, as director of University of Virginia’s Center for Politics Larry Sabato explains on Fox News, other states have made change-ups to their primaries, and that might make Iowa less important this year.

“This year, you have a long drawn-out process including some proportional representation, meaning in many places you can’t win all the delegates simply by getting one more vote than all the other candidates. So there’s a good chance this will be a long-term battle. That obviously favours the better-organized candidates.”

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Other states have made changes to their primaries, but Iowa is still a focal point and a key battleground state, writes Ed Kilgore in The New Republic.

“There will be a significant lull in contests after Florida votes on January 31, so a candidacy like Romney’s with strong financial and organizational advantages could well survive early setbacks in Iowa and elsewhere […] But make no mistake: When Iowans trudge through the frigid night to their caucus sites on January 3, the odds are high their decision will have [a] powerful impact on the race.”

Transcript by Newsy.